removing tabs using vim

Vim and Source Code Formatting

Vim understands C well enough to be able to indent code automatically. The default indentation style uses tabs, which may not be appropriate for some people. In order to remove tabs completely from the source, enter:

:set expandtab
:retab




which converts all tabs into spaces in such a way that the indentation is preserved. While typing C text, Vim automatically indents for you. This helps you figure out where you have your matching brace. You can match braces, ), ] and } with the % command in command mode. Simply take the cursor to a brace and press %, which takes you to the corresponding closing or opening brace. This works for comments as well as for #if, #ifdef and #endif.